E457 



.W55 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



11 



DDDDt,]i4b74D 




4 V «*. - ■ - ^v 











.^^^ov 








V >„..*" .-ifM^'. %.,<^ :'^-: \ >■*' . 






^% "- .^^V^;:-^-^- ^°^!^^^°- /-^a;;;:^^ / 



(C^o^ .1 









■>^ . t • 









v^^.^ij^^ "^c^ '■\.o'^ •'.vo* ^^ "■ V^"" •r^'/'^o 






^'%''j^(P/ .■5?'"\ ''JW.\'^^ % -.^K-* .«^'"\ °'?1P^-' 



r '-^^.^^ 



-1 -^^.^ 



C\- * 



V* ♦i.^L'4, c^ 



-^-' > 











v^^ 



<* ^'TVi* ,0 






O. 'o , » 








>» J-^-^K V 











ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
MAY, 1911 



LINCOLN 



and 



The Beginning of the Republican Party | 

in Illinois. 



BY 



O. p. WHARTON. 



AN ADDRESS 

Read Before the 

ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

at its 

Annual Meeting, Evanston, 111., 

May, 1911 



'h^^'h 3 H / 



ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
MAY, 1911 



LINCOLN 

and 



The Beginning of the Republican Party 

in Illinois. 



BY 



O. p. WHARTON. 



AN ADDRESS 

Read Before the 

ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

at its 

Annual Meeting, Evanston, 111 , 

May, 1911 



Springfield, III. 

Illinois State Journal Co., State Printers 

1912 



LINCOLN AND THE BEGINNING OF THE 
REPUBLICAN PARTY IN ILLINOIS. 



BY 0. P. WHAKTON. 

To write a chapter of my knowledge of, and acquaintance with, Abra- 
ham Lincoln is to make it principally marked by brevity. I bought the 
Kock Island Advertiser, a Whig newspaper, early in September, 1853, 
and then first heard of him as the acknowledged leader of that party in 
Illinois, a man of marked honesty and sincerity of purpose, utterly devoid 
of demagoguism and trickery in politics. The year following the Rock 
Island railroad was completed through to the Mississippi river at Eock 
island and a bridge across that river was built in 1855 and I was secre- 
tary of a meeting to lay the corner stone of the drawpier of that bridge. 
As soon as it was finished the St. Louis Merchants Association brought 
suit against the Bridge Company to compel the removal of the bridge as 
an obstruction to navigation. The suit was tried before Chief Justice 
McLean of the Supreme Court of the United States at Chicago. Abra- 
iiam Lincoln was chief attorney for the Bridge Company and I was a 
witness in behalf of the Company, having been requested by Joseph 
Ivnox, resident attorney for it at Eock Island, to act in that capacity by 
assisting in testing the current of the- river through the draw for tbe 
passage of boats. In this way I got more knowledge of the character 
of Lincoln, who conducted the case for the Bridge Company with such 
masterly ability that the opposition had no show of any consequence for 
its contention against the right to bridge the Mississippi river at any 
point where the interests of transportation east and west required such 
a structure. 

But in 1856 I first became personally acquainted with Abraham Lin- 
coln. The Whig editors of Illinois found themselves rather destitute of 
a party, and sought a way to get a new organization of one to fight the 
repeal of the ]\Iissouri Compromise with its design to extend slavery into 
Kansas, and, in fact, to make the holding of negroes as slaves in all tlie 
states of the Union legal, as the act of the Dred Scott decision of tbe 
Supreme Court of the United States declared that no negro could bring 
a suit in any court to gain his freedom from slavery because he was not a 
citizen entitled to sue in any court. 

So the Whig editors of Illinois, to further their purpose of organizing 
such a new party, called a convention of themselves at Decatur ijj that 
State and invited Mr. Lincoln over from Springfield, his home, to meet 
with them for consultation and advice. I attended that convention, was 
put on the Committee on Eesolutions, thus being brought into direct 



contact with Lincoln, who^oved a^ very ^ ^^^^l^^t^ 
indeed. If I remember rightly he ^^'^^ }^ f^^'^^^J^ ^^^^ pleased with 
Plank of the platform we ^^-^y/'l'' / '^ .onveXi o^Jmlnate a state 

years after the Bloomington ^^ommation 1', i^n^ly dSed and nomi- 
Llegates met, ^^^^T^^^t^J^'t^Z^ celebrated 

natedLmcolnhmsef^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^,,,,,^ Compro- 

campaign agamst Stepheoi A IJoug -, Convention in 1858 that 

mise repealing act. It was at the ^PJ^n^^^^^ . ^ ^^ scriptural quota- 
Lincoln made his memorable speech ^^g^^^^^^^ J,f J^^ ,\tting on the 
tion "A house divided against ^t!^;^ ^,^^, he spoke, and at 
steps of the rostrum of the Senate ^'^^ J^bei Irom ^ ^ i ^^^^^ ^^ 

the conclusion of his speech he ^^,* j^" ^^^X^'^f ^f Of course, I felt 
my surprise demanded to know what J, ff^;;:f.f,\is speech ind its 

rather taken aback 1^^^^.^"^f X^ad sniSn too blf^^^^^^^ l^e had 
sudden conclusion, I ^-^P^ied that he had pol^n too M y 

made a brave speech, patriotic ^f P^^J^^^^.^' ^f ^^^ t and acted as though 
for his audience which appeared rathe ^^'^^f J^^^f -X it. It was plain 
he had not said enough nor put ^:^^^]^^ ^^^^^ the assembly 
that he should have said more ^o^^^^^ ,^,^^^ ."^^^^^ I,,, eritic.sm was per- 

away in a better humor. Lincoln ^'^'^P" \^, ;;^^^^^^^^^^ that if I would 

haps correct as the audience did appcaiailK.^^^^^^^ alt ^^^^^ 

write a resolution commendmg the ]^}'':^^^^^^ 'J^'^e would olfer it 
the acts of the party during its ^^^'f .!^^^^t;\^^'';,,;,eemed to require, 
himself and make such further mnaAs as the case seem ^^^^ J^^^ .^ 

I wrote the resolution reques ed ^ J 7' .^^ e^ed aesired and all went 
with some Lincoln-like ^•^''1^'^%:'^'}^^^^^^^ that he had 

off apparently well satisfied ^^^^,:'^a they had strongly 
submitted his speech to some of ^f P^^;^;'^ °"' ^f l,e did Douglas would 
advised him against making ^^^^h a sp ech, ^o^ ^^ ^^^s not then at that 
carry the state and wm tl^« Senator hip. ^^'I2e7,\i Illinois and his 

if they were to remain united. Lincoln was l^eaten for the 

S- Knox"?!;/ fSd^cacy abojU f^^^^!^:^ ^ 
Mr. Lincoln would ^f "°™;f ^tfr^^^^ ;^Ttu0^^ Wt^rly 

'o;;stririncraJl a1 /ofXVhig party, and .a. in fact, chief 



tarth and ech,cafio„ and ah,",'' oroo^rt L T'"' "^ .M^'^adio^etfa 
the repeal of the Miss„„ri (■bmpromi.T I fa'??''™, <'//'''™'% ami 

April 14, 1911. ^^^" '■*^'''ej Ave,, Los Angeles, Cal. 



I-.0. s.../5xra-s™ p.,._ 



$ 



y \^ 







.-^V. 






^^^. 



.^' 



-o >^\c:;^%\. /.^J^l>'^°o .*^\.1^^%V ^0^ 





A^ A 



«>uvV ^75^,-. '*i^^^^- oV'^^'. '^^^^ .♦jw/^'. -^^ 














'• '^^ ^-^ *:^ 








/ -o^^^/ ^;^-\/ V^^/ \ ^.. 









\. «'°.-^^->- ./\c:^/''^^ c°^.'j^'.% ..*^ 







'bV 









At. * ^*<tii^ • ^l" O * 



'bV 






. • • . -^^ 4^ , , . 
















-^^0^ 



^oV" 












V '-o.o' <i, 






^"- V.^* y^l^'v V.^.* :'^£\ V.^* •■ 












^^- •^?^*: %^^^ 



,/"-^ 



^<^> ^..,., %^_^ ^qV ,..-../^o '" A.*^^ ..^'•. \ 



^oV 






*bV" 






% ^^..^^ -^^J&l&^o V,/ :m^^ %,^^ /^V^-^ -^^^^ c^^ 















v^^ 



•~ v..^ 




'"^'O^ 






'*.„<" .v^l^-. '■^i.-f :il^. "^o*" '-^iB'-. •^ov* 






jP-?*-, 











VVT* A 




: ^^o« o^ 



:•. %.<^^ /^ 






''«. c-^" 



^.c^" ; 



^ ^.^ ^^ 






